Environmental Science & Engineering - www.esemag.com - June 2003
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Environmental News - June, 2003

Manitouwadge fined for failing to report underchlorinated water

The Township of Manitouwadge in Ontario has been fined $15,000 - plus victim fine surcharge - for failing to report unchlorinated water entering the drinking water distribution system for the Community of Manitouwadge.

The fine was assessed after the Township pleaded guilty to one count under Regulation 459/00, involving the failure to report low chlorine residual levels in a test sample. The offense occurred on July 7 and 8, 2001, when a chlorine feed pump failed, causing unchlorinated water to enter the distribution system. Regulation 459/00 requires immediate notification to the Ministry of the Environment when a free residual level of chlorine is below the required level.

ALTECH Wins GLOBE Award for Technology Innovation

ALTECH Technology Systems Inc. received the Award for Technology Innovation and Application, for installations of its innovative new multi-pollutant REITHER air scrubber technology. This patented variable-venturi wet scrubber has been applied by ALTECH to handle challenging air pollution control issues involving particulates, styrene and other VOCs, H2S and sulphur dioxide.

Alex Keen, President and CEO, was thrilled that the ALTECH team received the award, considering the strong list of finalists. He said, “it’s an unexpected honour to be chosen from a field that includes IBM, Enbridge, DuPont Canada and many others.” Contact: www.globe.ca.

ZENON wins 2003 Stockholm Industry Water Award

ZENON Environmental Inc. will receive the Stockholm Industry Water Award for its commitment to creating technologies that help to solve global water problems.

“I anticipate that the ZeeWeed® membrane technology will not only have a major impact on future technologies globally, but it will also open new avenues in handling water scarcity problems and implementing sustainable water strategies focusing on reuse, re-cycle and closing material cycles,” affirmed Björn Rosén, Chairman of the Nominating Committee.

The award, given by the Stockholm Water Foundation in co-operation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, recognizes ZENON’s membrane concept, which allows for a low-energy vacuum pressure, similar to human body membranes.

Ontario Consulting Engineers fund $250,000 Water Quality Research Scholarship

Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) has announced a $250,000.00 Water Quality Research Scholarship to support university-led research for the protection and treatment of drinking water across Ontario.

This first-of-its-kind program recognizes the need for practical solutions in water quality research. This scholarship program will fund up to six graduate student research positions over the next three years.

All universities in Ontario are eligible to apply. Students receiving the scholarships must be enrolled in a graduate program at an accredited engineering faculty. Eligible areas of research include contaminant detection and treatment, source water protection, and economics of drinking water infrastructure.

For further information, contact John Gamble, President, Consulting Engineers of Ontario, at 416-620- 1400.

Ainley Group president to lead CEO

Terry Hardy, P.Eng., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ainley Group, was elected Chair of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) at its Annual General Meeting in Alliston, Ontario on May 23.

Following his election, Mr. Hardy stressed his commitment to the recognition and advancement of consulting engineers as professional, value-added service providers rather than price-based commodities.

Mr. Hardy noted in an interview following the AGM, “for more than a century, Ontario’s consulting engineers have provided an invaluable contribution to the province as a whole and its tax-paying population in particular. However, the past decade has seen the excellence in engineering and innovation, for which Ontario’s consulting engineers are justifiably renowned, severely constrained, if not eroded, by price competition. Engineering excellence and innovation is an investment in quality, reliability and safety, so it is clearly not in the public’s best interest to select engineering services on the basis of low-bid prices.”

Biosolids application discontinued in Switzerland

Use of sewage sludge as fertilizer is being phased out in Switzerland. As of May 1, 2003, sludge has to be incinerated in an environmentally-friendly manner. The prohibition will be introduced gradually, first affecting the cultivation of animal feed and vegetables. A phasing-in period has been specified for other crops.

The agricultural industry has now rejected the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer, out of concern for the irreversible damage that may be caused to the soil, the health risks, and a possible reduction in quality of foodstuffs. So the Federal Council has prohibited the use of sewage sludge, even though this interrupts a food chain which appears logical.

While the prohibition came into force on May 1 for forage and vegetables, it will not be applicable for other applications of fertilizer until 2006. Cantons will be allowed to delay the deadline until autumn 2008 at the latest.

Very small sewage plants in remote regions are excluded from the legislation, because, in these cases, the sludge generally contains fewer dangerous substances, and the cost involved in transporting them to larger plants would be disproportionate. Today, 60% of sewage sludge is already treated as waste. In 2006, the rest will have to be incinerated - that is, about 80,000 tonnes per year.

New zero tolerance for bacteria in Alberta drinking water

The Alberta government is improving drinking water quality with a new zero-tolerance standard for bacteria, and a plan to tackle toxic blue-green algae blooms.

The presence of even one E. Coli Bacterium would be unacceptable as of May 1. Until then, water treatment plants were allowed to have less than 10 total coliform bacteria per 100 millilitres before taking action. But because some of the bacteria are present in soil, not just feces, Health Canada introduced a new guideline, last year, saying it would be better to test for the presence or absence of E. coli, a sure sign of fecal contamination. The government is also planning on being quicker to test for toxins which can be released into water by blue green algae blooms.

The plan for reacting to blue green algae might be completed by fall, said Pat Lang, program manager for Alberta Environments’s drinking water branch. Right now, some ideas for dealing with blooms include providing test kits to water system operators, along with instructions on how to avoid causing the algae to release the toxin.

Turnkey water project saves time, money for City of Vaudreuil-Dorion

USFilter’s John Meunier Products is installing a turnkey water treatment plant expansion for the city of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec. The approximately $800,000 project increases plant capacity from 12,000 m3/d (3.2 million gallons/day [mgd]) to 19,000 m3/d (5 mgd). Construction began in November 2002 and start-up was scheduled for April 2003.

The project includes an Actiflo® ballasted clarification process with a capacity of 12,000 m3/d (3.2 mgd) for pretreatment, and four Dusenflo® filter cells for final treatment. The process is being installed within the footprint of a decommissioned clarifier.

Dusenflo filters are gravity-flow sand media filters which are especially effective for removal of Giardia and Cryptosporidium cysts.

John Meunier Products is also supplying all tanks and mechanical equipment for the Actiflo process and filters as well as replacement chain baskets for an existing intake screen. USFilter is also providing instrumentation and controls for the new treatment process. Contact: gchatel@johnmeunier.com

NB town gets funding for two infrastructure projects

The Town of Bouctouche will receive an investment of $358,295 for its water and sewer infrastructure from the Canada-New Brunswick Infrastructure Program.

As a result of the funding announcement, residents will benefit from the construction of a new wet well at the Mills Street lift station to address increased flows, and the extension of the existing municipal sewer system to 29 new residences in the Desroches Subdivision. This announcement brings the total approved infrastructure projects to 60.

ADI and Tonka Equipment sign license agreement

ADI International Inc., Fredericton, New Brunswick and Tonka Equipment Company of Plymouth, Minnesota, have signed a license and marketing agreement which gives Tonka the right to use ADI’s MEDIA G2® arsenic removal adsorption technology in the design and manufacture of water treatment systems.

MEDIA G2 is a patented filter media used for the removal of arsenic from drinking water. It has been used for over four years in various countries, including the United States and Canada, reducing arsenic to less than two parts per billion.

The two companies have agreed to combine their marketing efforts, water treatment expertise, and systems for the municipal market in selected states.
Contact: e-mail elw@adi.ca

BC introduces incentives and penalties to improve environmental protection

Innovative new techniques that encourage environmentally responsible behavior and strengthen environmental protection are among the improvements included in the new Environmental Management Act introduced recently by Water, Land and Air Protection Minister Joyce Murray. A key aspect of the new act, which replaces the 23- year-old Waste Management Act, is the adoption of new, leading-edge environmental management practices that are used successfully in a number of other jurisdictions. These practices allow the province to better address the cumulative impacts of pollution, penalize violators more swiftly and encourage environmentally responsible behaviour through innovative, new incentives.

The act will also allow government to focus more effectively on activities that pose the most significant risk to the environment. The former Waste Management Act compelled government to treat all activities - from car washes to pulp mills - in a similar fashion, by requiring that staff issue permits in almost all cases. In future, high-risk operations will require a sitespecific permit; medium-risk activities or operations will be covered by provincewide codes of practice and low-risk operations will operate under a general prohibition against causing environmental harm.

Consistent with this risk-based approach, government has also introduced an improved system for the clean up of contaminated lands as part of the new act. The previous system was widely criticized for being slow, cumbersome and complicated. Although it was designed to deal with the most contaminated and highestrisk sites in the province, it also captured lands that posed little or no risk to human health or the environment.

As a result of these changes, government will regulate and advise on the province's highest risk contaminated sites. Increased opportunities will be available for private-sector environmental consultants to advise on the clean-up of lower-risk sites. Contact: www.gov.bc.ca/wlap.

Alberta undertakes comprehensive review of its water treatment facilities

The Government of Alberta is conducting a comprehensive review of water treatment facilities and water sources across the province.

All surface and groundwater treatment systems in smaller- and mediumsized communities will be included in the review, which will occur in two phases. First, independent contractors will assess the design and operations of approximately 220 water treatment facilities in the province, and the quantity, quality and protection available for the raw water sources.

The second phase will identify possible solutions for areas that may need upgrading to ensure their operations are sustainable at a high level, especially if standards become more stringent.

That could include using or building regional treatment plants and pipelines, or other regional management options, for communities where it may be too expensive to upgrade existing facilities or build new ones. Other possible solutions might identify water source protection options, and operator certification and retention strategies.

The first phase of the review is expected to cost $750,000 and be completed by December 15. A copy of the Request for Proposal is available online at www.gov.ab.ca/env. A copy of the draft Water for Life: Alberta's Strategy for Sustainability is available at www.waterforlife.gov.ab.ca

Canadian engineering regulators to cooperate on discipline and enforcement

Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), the licensing body for professional engineers in Ontario, has signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with the other eleven Canadian provincial and territorial regulators of engineering and the engineering profession on discipline and enforcement activities.

PEO licenses about 40 per cent of the professional engineers in Canada. Since many individuals and firms offering services to the public operate in more than one province, it is important that the public have access to information about individuals or firms involved in illegal practice, or who have been disciplined, regardless of the provincial jurisdiction involved.

Professional engineers must be licensed in each province and territory in which they operate because professional licensing in Canada is under provincial or territorial statute. However, Canadian engineering regulators have led the way in inter-association professional licensing. In 1999, the twelve engineering licensing bodies agreed that professional engineers licensed in any Canadian jurisdiction would be accepted for licensing in any other, as long as they have no past or pending disciplinary proceedings.

Under the most recent agreement, engineers will be required to meet substantially the same standards of conduct and practice wherever they practise in Canada, and investigations and legal action against those practising without appropriate licensing and authorization can be undertaken cooperatively in multiple jurisdictions. Contact: gaitken@peo.on.ca

York Region fined $16,000in two water offense cases

Ontario's Regional Municipality of York has been fined $16,000 after pleading guilty to four violations of the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA) at water distribution and treatment systems serving Ansnorveldt and Schomberg. A victim fine surcharge was added to the fine.

The Region was fined $4,000 on each of four counts under section 107(2) of the OWRA. Three of the four charges involve the Region's failure to comply with a Provincial Officer's Order for the water distribution system in Ansnorveldt. The Court heard that the Region failed to carry out the following work by the ordered dates: submit a consultant's report to the ministry detailing whether two wells in the Ansnorveldt system complied with Regulation 903, made under the OWRA; apply to have the Ansnorveldt system properly classified; and establish an additional monitoring program for the Ansnorveldt system to monitor the raw water sources.

These offenses occurred between October 30 and November 30, 2001. The Region has since carried out the ordered work.

The fourth charge involves the Region's failure to comply with a Provincial Officer's Order for the water treatment system in Schomberg. The Court heard that the Region failed to submit a report detailing the results of a hydrogeological study for the Schomberg water treatment system which was a requirement of the Schomberg system's Permit to Take Water.

John Munro named new ACPA Chairman

John G. Munro, president of Munro Concrete Products, Ltd., Barrie, Ontario, has been named the new chairman of the board of the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA). Munro assumed the chairmanship at ACPA’s 95th annual convention in Bonita Springs, Florida, March 10-12, 2003.

Munro succeeds Raymond L. Rhees, central region president of Oldcastle Precast, Inc., Littleton, Colorado. Munro will serve as ACPA chairman through the Association’s fiscal year ending March 31, 2004.

The American Concrete Pipe Association is a non-profit organization composed of manufacturers of concrete pipe and related conveyance products. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, ACPA has more than 135 member companies worldwide.
Contact: (972) 506-7216.

Financial assistance available for NB manure storage facilities

The New Brunswick Department of the Environment and Local Government recently announced that funding is available again this year to assist livestock operators construct new, or renovate existing manure storage facilities.

The aim of the $400,000 Manure Stewardship Program is to encourage the construction of manure storage structures that improve farmers' ability to manage manure using sound environmental practices. Financial assistance of up to 50 per cent of the total cost of a project, to a maximum of $50,000, will be available to livestock producers whose projects qualify.

Projects that could be eligible for funding include the construction, expansion or upgrading for non-earthen manure storage structures on existing livestock operations, and the engineering costs associated with such projects. To be eligible, farmers must complete and submit a manure nutrient management plan for their farm.

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